“He’s got to continue the transformation of the playboy-fratboy image to show he’s serious enough and weighty enough to take on this job,” said presidential scholar Charles Jones.

“It’s very important, as the capstone to the whole plan for this convention, presenting him as a new type of candidate – passing the torch to a new Baby Boom generation that is more inclusive.”

Which is precisely why President Clinton, out to play spoiler, did his best to revive the fratboy image a few days back by taunting that Bush thinks he ought to be president because “my daddy was.”

Most candidates rise to the occasion and give good speeches – as Bush’s dad did in 1988 when he took the torch from Ronald Reagan by pledging to be “kinder, gentler” and vowing: “Read my lips: No new taxes.”

OK, the pledge backfired later, but it helped him win.

Yet some candidates flunk the test.

Hapless 1996 GOP contender Bob Dole gave an eloquent speech – but it convinced Americans he wanted to lead them back to the past and was just too old.

Post pollster John Zogby thinks things have been going so well for Bush – now bouncing in polls – that a lot of the pressure is off. Especially since polls show voters like the ex-fratboy a lot better than Democratic rival Al Gore.

“They’ve already cleared away the negative issues that folks have had of Republicans for most of the ’90s, such as the party of meanness,” Zogby said. “They’ve shown swing voters that this is not the party of Pat Buchanan.”

“Bush doesn’t have to hit a home run. He just has to be himself, because so far voters like him for himself. As Ronald Reagan showed us, it’s hard to beat upsomebody whom folks like.”

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No doubt that’s why Bush intends to “needle” Clinton and Gore in his speech tonight, but won’t get out the meat cleaver, according to spokeswoman Karen Hughes.

The whole GOP convention has been cast as a kind of sad reproach of Clinton, rather than an attack – GOP veep wannabe Dick Cheney’s talk about “opportunities squandered” and Clinton as a “tragic figure” are cases in point.

Just about every Republican speaker talks about the need to restore “integrity and honor.” No one sees the need to spell out what they mean. After all, thanks to Clinton, Monica Lewinsky is a household name.

That’s probably why Clinton sounds so desperate to go after Bush in harsh personal terms – attacks are a lot easier to handle than pity.

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On the Dem front: The latest entry in the Gore veep rumor mill is ex-White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, a former California congressman.

The rationale: He’d help in California, he clearly has gravitas and he’s an ethnic Catholic with special appeal to Italian-Americans, a vital voting group in many swing states.

Problem: His résumé looks a lot like Bush’s veep, Dick Cheney, an ex-congressman who was Gerald Ford’s White House chief-of-staff at age 30.

Copycat, anyone?

Why a new name? The top contender in recent days is said to be Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), an attractive, aggressive Vietnam War hero.

But very liberal.

Given Bush’s lead in the polls, Gore may need someone who’ll give him a clear boost politically, not just a nice image. Gore doesn’t need Kerry to win Massachusetts. And at $620 million net worth (by marriage), he’s the richest senator, which makes it hard to run a populist anti-rich campaign.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) could help Gore with unions, but he’s one of the least likable senators, a harshly partisan guy who’d hardly help Gore’s image.

And Florida Sen. Bob Graham’s endless diaries detailing every minute of his life are eyebrow-raising.